The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has blacklisted Aveo Pharmaceuticals Pvt Limited, an India-based company implicated in the illegal production and exportation of highly addictive opioid combinations in Nigeria and some other West African countries.
The company was found culpable of manufacturing, selling, and exporting a range of addictive pills containing a dangerous combination of Tapentadol, a potent opioid, and Carisoprodol, a banned muscle relaxant with addictive properties linked to overdoses and fatalities. The mix, sold under the names Tafrodol and Royal 225, has been widely trafficked across the region.
A BBC World Service investigation revealed that drugs bearing the Aveo Pharmaceuticals logo have been found on the streets of Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Following this revelation, NAFDAC has banned the sale and distribution of Tafrodol and Royal 225 across Nigeria.
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Mojisola Adeye, NAFDAC’s Director General confirmed on Friday that neither Tafrodol, Royal 225, nor any product from Aveo Pharmaceuticals has ever been registered by the agency.
She further emphasised that tramadol doses exceeding 100 mg, which are commonly trafficked by the company, have not been approved for medical use in Nigeria.
“NAFDAC has never registered Tafrodol, Royal 225, or any strength of tramadol greater than 100 mg (the prescription limit), nor any product manufactured by Aveo Pharmaceuticals Pvt Limited,” she stated.
“Therefore, drawing from the NAFDAC Act Cap N.1 LFN 2004 and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Cap C.34 LFN 2004, NAFDAC has decided to BLACKLIST AVEO Pharmaceuticals Pvt Limited,” she declared.
Further implicating Aveo Pharmaceuticals, she disclosed that an undercover investigation sent an operative into the company’s factory, posing as an African businessman looking to supply opioids to Nigeria.
The agent, using a hidden camera, recorded his interaction with Vinod Sharma, a representative of the company, who confessed to the large-scale exportation of these illegal drugs across West Africa. He also admitted to their distribution for street abuse as opioids.
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